1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to tables, particularly to a collapsible table useful for supporting a person being massaged.
2. Description of Prior Art
Heretofore collapsible tables of the type which had to bear relatively great loads, such as massage tables, were made in a variety of shapes and styles. One popular type used load-bearing cables to support the table and bear most of its weight when it was assembled. Such tables usually had foldable diagonal leg braces to hold the legs in their unfolded, open condition, at right angles to the table's top. For safety purposes, these braces were themselves usually locked in an unfolded straight condition by means of various locking devices, such as pins, special latches, and the like.
Such locking devices had many inherent disadvantages. A main disadvantage with locking pins and the like was that they had to be specially inserted or set in place by a separate manual operation. If the user forgot to perform this operation, the stability and the safety of the table was compromised and it could collapse if kicked or hit in the wrong way. The pins could sometimes be inserted improperly, e.g., partially, so that they did not latch, leading to compromises in safety. Also if the pins became worn, their fit became loose and they again tended to disengage. A main disadvantage with latches is that they also had to be set manually, or, if automatic, were heavy, complicated, unreliable, and expensive.
Another type of table used rigid, foldable braces or struts to lock the table's legs in open position. However these struts were expensive to manufacture, were subject to collapse, were heavy, and were unreliable in operation.
In addition to the foregoing disadvantages associated with the table's support mechanism, other disadvantages were encountered with the face cradle arrangements employed in massage tables. As is known, when a person receives a massage in a prone (front part of body down) position, such person's head is usually supported by a face cradle, a padded arrangement which allows the person to breathe while the person faces down. Heretofore such face cradles were difficult to assemble to the table and were not adjustable so that the person's head could be raised or lowered.
The table's leg adjustment mechanisms also left much to be desired. Heretofore the height of most tables was not adjustable, or could be adjusted only by unbolting and then rebolting two-part sliding legs. Obviously this process was complicated, time consuming, and could not be performed by those who did not have tools or were not mechanically minded.